BANGKOK: The long queues reported on the first day of the Malaysia-Thailand 24-hour border operations in Bukit Kayu Hitam and Sadao has to be resolved swiftly.
Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said there should be no delays in ensuring smooth traffic flow at the border as a huge volume of vehicles transporting goods from Thailand will use the route to enter Malaysia towards Penang Port.
"We only started operating around the clock recently and the response has been good. However, we need to solve a few issues which I expect will be discussed at the officer-level but it has to be done quick.
"It is crucial to find immediate solutions as some 60 percent of Thailand's trade will pass through the border when they transport goods towards the nearby ports including in Penang," he told reporters after attending the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the 34th Asean Summit, here, today.
He was responding to the New Straits Times' front page article today on motorists especially lorry drivers being forced to wait for almost six hours due to the long queues.
Sources told that the problem was due to a change in procedures undertaken by the Thai Customs Department for vehicles coming from Danok which required the lorry drivers to get down from their vehicles to see the Thai Immigration officers to get their passports stamped.
Previously, the procedure on the approval for lorry drivers’ travel documents was done at the Customs checkpoint, which was approximately 2km from the border.